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Ibram X. Kendi to deliver annual lecture on race relations at ASU

February 8, 2023

Ibram X. Kendi, a New York Times bestselling author and professor at Boston University, will be the featured speaker at the 2023 A. Wade Smith and Elsie Moore Memorial Lecture on Race Relations.

Kendi was also named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant.

“In 2020, Arizona State University President Michael Crow committed the university to increase the support of The College’s annual A. Wade Smith Lecture series,” said Patrick Kenney, dean of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Since the lecture was established over two decades ago, this event has welcomed a distinguished guest to our ASU community to discuss important issues of race and society. We are pleased for the opportunity to welcome Ibram X. Kendi as this year’s featured speaker.”

The lecture will be held in Armstrong Hall 101 at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 13.

About the A. Wade Smith and Elise Moore Memorial Lecture on Race Relations

The A. Wade Smith and Elsie Moore Memorial Lecture on Race Relations was created in 1995 to perpetuate Smith’s tireless efforts to improve race relations across ASU campuses and within the greater community.

It is among 25 engagements ASU has pledged to support in the enhancement of the lived and Iearning experiences of Black students, staff and faculty through the LIFT initiative — itself inspired by ASU’s objectives and aspirations to transform society, enable student success and engage globally. 

 

Read more at ASU NewsIbram X. Kendi to deliver annual lecture on race relations at ASU 

 

6/19/2022

The ASU Library is partnering with the Arizona Historical Society and the Black Family Genealogy and History Society to bring you the first Juneteenth Celebration at the Arizona Heritage Center in Phoenix/Tempe. Juneteenth is a day to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and to celebrate African American culture. This event is our way of bringing communities together and talking about Arizona’s history through the stories of African American migration.

Join us on Sunday, June 19 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Arizona Heritage Center (1300 N. College Ave., Tempe,  AZ 85281) as we enjoy live performances, educational tables; food and refreshments; and accomplished speakers. Featuring Neal Lester, Kareem Neal, Jessica Salow and Margaret Hangan.

Please register for this free event with the Arizona Historical Society. 

4/25/2022

Lonnie G. Bunch III and Ruth V. McGregor to receive honorary degrees at undergrad, graduate ceremonies

Arizona State Univesity has announced Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor as the speakers for undergraduate and graduate commencement, respectively, on May 9.

They will be be receiving honorary degrees at those ceremonies as well. Bunch, honored for his achievements in American history, education and culture, will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. McGregor, recognized as an exemplar of ASU’s charter and an alumna of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

Graduate commencement will take place at 9 a.m. Monday, May 9, at Desert Financial Arena on the Tempe campus; undergraduate commencement at 7:30 p.m. that day at Sun Devil Stadium.

Read more here: Lonnie G. Bunch III to deliver ASU undergraduate commencement address

For details on all 2022 ASU ceremonies, including how to RSVP, visit graduation.asu.edu.

4/14/2022

"Past Connections That Bind Us All: A Conversation with Henry Louis Gates, Jr."

Arizona PBS, ASU Gammage and Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host a dynamic event, Past Connections That Bind Us All: A Conversation with Henry Louis Gates Jr. at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at ASU Gammage.

Presented with support from Salt River Project, the 90-minute event will feature Gates offering behind-the-scenes details about the discovery process for celebrity guests of “Finding Your Roots,” his successful PBS series now in its eighth season.

Gates will participate in a Q&A session composed of questions submitted by Arizona PBS viewers and members of the community. Community members are invited to submit questions that will be showcased during the event’s Q&A segment in the form of video messages. To make a video submission, click here.  To purchase tickets, visit www.asugammage.com.

Click here to read more about this event.

3/15/2022

“Banking While Black” experiential art and exhibit about historic Black Wall Streets to premiere at ASU

Arizona State University and Creative Capital artist Paul Rucker will transform the Coca-Cola Sun Deck, an open concept space at Sun Devil Stadium, into a visual and physical experience of historic awareness that recognizes Black prosperity and innovation. The exhibit will use physical and digitally integrated art to tell the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre, of historic Black Wall Streets and of Black excellence and culture that blossomed in these communities before they were destroyed. This display will not only shed light on some of the more obvious historical demonstration to erase, steal, and contain the existence of Black Americans, but provide a living picture of thriving Black communities of the past and allow for a deeper connected experience to our American history.

Upon entering the exhibit, guests will be guided to the main installation that re-creates a walkable “bank,” complete with deposit tables, marble slabs, brass fittings, chandeliers, carved mahogany doors and more. The collection of vintage bank components come from the artist’s personal collection and are enhanced with raw material to create a life-size, open-air sculpture and tangible, interactive environment. Guests will be able to collect paper deposit slips featuring facts and trivia questions about Black Wall Streets that were curated by the artist through years of research. Deposit slips can be scanned at the virtual teller windows for answers and more information about the highlighted history.

Reservations for timed-entry experiences are required to visit Banking While Black exhibit. The exhibit is free and open to the public March 15 through April 17, 2022 (closed Mondays).

Reserve your spot starting March 1 at asu365communityunion.com/bankingwhileblack.Group tours are available by contacting info@asu365communityunion.com. Covid safety policies will be in place to protect visitors and working staff.

Banking While Black is commissioned and presented by Arizona State University’s 365 Community Union, a department within ASU Cultural Affairs. Project partners include Arizona PBS, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, ASU Art Museum and W.P. Carey School of Business and Arizona PBS.

1/20/2022

1/20/2022

Community Conversations: A look inside Black Collections

Join Jessica Salow, assistant archivist of Black collections and Christina Ngo, director of social embeddedness, for an inside look at the creation of the Black Collection at ASU. Hear how the library’s Community Driven Archives initiative is expanding to document the lives of Black Arizonans and offers free resources, toolkits and archival materials to communities across the state. Learn how you can become a community archivist and support preserving local history. The virtual conversation will take place Thursday, Jan. 20 from 3–4 p.m. Arizona/MST. Register to receive the Zoom link.

About Jessica Salow

Jessica Salow is the assistant archivist of Black Collections at Arizona State University (ASU) Library. Prior to her current role, she was a Specialist with the Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative at ASU Library. She obtained her Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Arizona and is an alumna of Arizona State University. Her current work focuses on specialized reference and instruction as well as creating a robust collection of primary and secondary resources that document the lived experiences of Black people living and thriving in the state of Arizona.

About Christina Ngo

Christina Ngo serves as director of social embeddedness within the Office of University Affairs at ASU. Christina’s work focuses on advancing the mission of the New American University by evaluating university-wide social embeddedness efforts and initiatives. She facilitates and amplifies collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships and innovations across the university and throughout our communities. Christina loves working with leaders and invested stakeholders to create, elevate and recognize mutually beneficial partnerships that benefit education. She is interested in creating innovative learning experiences, connecting people and resources, building new ways of working, and weaving whimsy throughout higher education.

Community Conversations features library experts in conversation with community members and seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the resources and wide array of services available at the ASU Library.

Registration/Tickets/RSVPhttps://bit.ly/33PH4Pe

Contact: Patty Odle, ASU Library
Email: podle@asu.edu
Date/time: January 20, 2022 at 3:00 pm-4:00 pm
Location: Virtual event
Price: Free

 

10/21/2021

2021 Graduate College Distinguished Lecture: Canceling Student Debt is Anti-Racist (and Why We Must Do It)

Join the Graduate College and noted educator, journalist and scholar, Dr. Andre M. Perry, for this year's 2021 Graduate College Distinguished Lecture. Perry’s research focuses on race and structural inequality, education and economic inclusion. He will discuss how centering student debt policy around students of color would help to combat historic systemic racism that has prevented Black people and people of color from gaining the wealth they were denied for centuries. As a result, it is more difficult for Black Americans to pay back their student loans, acquire homes and start businesses.

Following Dr. Perry’s lecture, he will sit down with special guest Dr. Battinto Batts Jr., dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University for a question and answer session to include questions from the audience. Questions for Dr. Perry can also be submitted in advance through your in-person or virtual registration.

The event is free and open to the public. The lecture will be livestreamed and limited in-person seating is available. Registration is required for both event formats.

About the speaker:
Dr. Andre M. Perry, noted educator, journalist and scholar, is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Perry is nationally known and respected in the fields of race and structural inequality, education and economic inclusion. He is the author of "Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities".

Prior to Brookings, Perry worked in education in the Louisiana government, founded the College of Urban Education at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, MI, and was an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of New Orleans.

A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Perry earned his PhD in education policy and leadership from the University of Maryland College Park.

About the interviewer:
Dr. Battinto L. Batts Jr., dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU, is an award-winning journalist and journalism educator with deep experience in philanthropy and nonprofit administration. As the school’s top leader, he supervises approximately 170 full-time and part-time faculty, 50 staff members and 2,300 students. He also oversees 13 intensive full-immersion professional programs as well as all undergraduate, graduate and online curriculums.

Batts holds a master’s degree in media management from Norfolk State University and a doctorate in higher education management from Hampton University.


Registration/Tickets/RSVPhttps://na.eventscloud.com/2021distinguishedlecture
Contact: Keith Chandler
Emailgradcollege-q@asu.edu
Phone: 480-965-3521
Date/time: October 21, 2021 at 4:00pm
Location: Old Main (Carson Ballroom) and Live-streamed, Tempe campus
Price: Free

 

9/22/2021

Welcome reception for Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows and Graduate Assistants in MU 228 (Cochise).


Under the Teach category of the LIFT Initiative (T1 and T2), this is the first cohort of these two initiatives. The event will feature remarks from Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and university provost; Elizabeth Wentz, university vice provost and dean, Graduate College; Cassandra Aska, deputy vice president and dean of students, Tempe; and Vernon Morris, school director and professor, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

The event encourages the new scholars to network with their colleagues and ASU faculty and leadership to begin creating a supportive community as ASU.

11/04/2020

President Crow has appointed Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Vice President of Cultural Affairs, and Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Department of Economics, to co-lead the Advisory Council on African American Affairs and address the 25 actions to support Black students, faculty and staff. Members of ASU’s Black faculty, staff and student community have been invited to attend a town hall with Colleen and Jeffrey on November 9, 2020 to address key areas of interest related to these initiatives. We value your ideas and input, as we look for the best way to accomplish these issues. An ASU-wide Town Hall will be held in the coming weeks.

As the Council embarks on this very important work, we want you to know we cherish your valuable input. We will keep you up to date as things progress and look forward to your continued feedback. If you are not able to make the town hall, please send your suggestions to acaaa@asu.edu.